1870.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 239 



plant into them ; every particle of mould or slimy matter which adheres to them 

 and clogs up the pores should be removed, both outside and inside. When a 

 plant is potted into a pot the inside of which is covered with particles of earth, 

 the mischievous consequence, to say nothing of others, is that, in turning a plant 

 out of it, the ball is sure to be broken, and, of course, the roots also injured. 



The Phcenix Park. — By the demise of the late lamented Mr Wilkie, the responsible 

 post of head bailiff of the Park recently fell to the disposal of the authorities. It 

 affords us no small pleasure to-day to be able to inform our readers, more especially 

 those of them who take a practical interest in the Park and its future, that the autho- 

 rities have exercised the trust placed in their hands in a way that does credit alike 

 to their impartiality and their practical discrimination. As is always the case 

 when there is a thing of the kind to give away, the number who suddenly be- 

 come conscious of their practical knowledge and fitness for the post was quite 

 marvellous. We understand the number of applicants was exceedingly numerous, 

 the claims and fitness of the vast majority to fill the post being doubtless of the 

 most imaginative or shadowy character. Military men suddenly found they could 

 as fitly direct the operations of the pruning-hook as of the sword, and civilians, 

 to whom gardening and woodcraft were hitherto myths, and a tree a tree, but 

 certainly "nothing more," quickly became gifted with much knowledge of the 

 two first, and quite a rare appreciation of the beauty and value of the latter. 



" Than a tree, 

 A grander child earth bears not." 



"W ell, however, notwithstanding the personal convictions of so many of the fit- 

 ness of the post for them, and no doubt high character and much influence, a 

 practical man eminently qualified for the post, Mr Charles M 'Donald, so long 

 and favourably known in connection with Colonel Tighe's magnificent residence, 

 Co. Kilkenny, has been selected to fill it. 



Than Mr M 'Donald we do not think a better selection could be made. Thor- 

 oughly practical and experienced as a horticulturist, absolutely enthusiastic in his 

 love of trees, and as regards the advancement of arboriculture, and at the same 

 time possessing a refined and cultivated taste, he is the right man in the right 

 place. We congratulate Mr M 'Donald most sincerely on his well-deserved pro- 

 motion, and those who, waiving other considerations, gave to those of practical 

 fitness the weight they should always have in appointments of the kind. We 

 have no doubt that all who may be brought into contact with Mr M 'Donald will 

 find him, as we have ever found him, most kind, courteous, and obliging. We 

 do not know at all whether they come within his sphere of action, but somehow 

 or other we have hopes from his appointment that, as well as in the Park, 

 "arboriculture in the garrison" will look up, and the "poor trees" in the 

 Military Esplanade be no longer its opprobrium. 



We are also gratified to learn that Mr M 'Donald is to be succeeded at Wood- 

 stock by Mr M. Matheson, who has been for many years gardener to the Marquess 

 of Exeter, and who, we believe, is one of the ablest gardeners at present in Eng- 

 land. — Irish Farmers' Gazette. 



[We cordially endorse every word of the above in regard to our old friend and 

 correspondent Mr M 'Donald. All who have visited Woodstock Park have had 

 ample proof of Mr M 'Donald's genius, for what he has done there entitles him to 

 credit for this quality in no small degree ; he stepped boldly beyond his profession 



